Yesterday we published news that the well known camera bag brand, Lowepro, were launching a [URL="http://dpnow.com/7273.html"]photography competition[/URL]. We all like photography contests - they provide an opportunity to show off your prowess and to enjoy the work of others who have entered their photos.

The problem is that occasionally such entrants may find that it's practically no longer their work any more. The Lowepro competition rules make all sorts of claims and not just on the winning photos, but of [B]all [/B]photos entered, as [URL="http://dpnow.com/forum2/member.php?u=1542"]John H. Maw[/URL] discovered. Here is just one excerpt of the rules that John revealed on the [URL="http://dpnow.com/forum2/showthread.php?t=10546"]forum[/URL]:

[COLOR=sienna][I]"OWNERSHIP/USE OF ENTRIES: For All Entries: By submitting an Entry, each entrant agrees that Sponsors shall have a non-exclusive, perpetual, fully-paid up and royalty-free license to the Entry submitted (including all rights embodied therein) and that they and their respective designees may exploit, edit, alter, modify, and distribute the Entry and all elements of such Entry, including, without limitation, the names and likenesses of any persons or locations embodied therein, in any and all media now known or hereafter devised, including in print and online, worldwide, without compensation, permission or notification to entrant or any third party. MORAL RIGHTS: To the extent permitted by law, each entrant waives and releases the Released Parties from any and all claims that each entrant may now or hereafter have in any jurisdiction based on �moral rights� or �droit moral� or unfair competition with respect to Sponsors� exploitation of Entries without further notification or compensation to entrants of any kind, and agrees not to instigate, support, maintain, or authorize any action, claim, or lawsuit against the Released Parties in connection with this Contest, on the grounds that any use of any Entry or any derivative works thereof, infringe or violate any rights of any entrant and/or any participant therein."[/I][/COLOR]

We can only deduce that they want to have unrestricted use of any picture entered and they also impose restrictions on what you can do with your own photograph.

So is this right? How common is this kind of all-encompassing claim on your work in photography competitions? Can they legally claim all this? Is it fair? Is it moral? Ultimately, could this backfire on Lowepro?

I've asked Lowepro's PR company to help me answer some of these questions and I'll get back to you as soon as I get some response.